More Than A Friend
by Wolfjet
Summary: Munkustrap is alone in the junkyard when an unexpected visitor drops in — and no, it's not Macavity.  The resultant confrontation leaves both cats with a few lessons about the other — and themselves.  Please R&R!


**Author's Note:** This fanfic was based primarily on the 'Cats' video, but also on the local community theater production that I saw. By the way, I know Mungojerrie should have a slight accent, but I don't really know how to write dialogue with an accent, so I put it in plain English. I suppose you could pretend if you really wanted. :-) Hope you enjoy!

* * *

The junkyard was deserted.

All of the Jellicle cats had gone home for the night, the only sound being the repeated buzz of a flickering street lamp, high above the center clearing where the cats congregated. Crickets chirped, the odd Pollicle barked and the hum of cars rose and fell in the night, tires skidding on the pavement with faraway screeches.

Munkustrap, the only Jellicle without a home to go to, listened to these sounds as he tried, futilely, to fall asleep in the trunk of an old car under the streetlamp. He had shut the dented lid almost completely so that he was virtually invisible to anyone who might happen to be passing by, but he could see the yard through a slim crack in the darkness. Not that there was anything worth watching; after the ball none of the cats had opted to hang around, instead choosing to go to their respective homes or spend time with their mates instead.

Munkustrap sighed. No home for him. And no mate. He had stopped caring about being a streetcat long ago, but the fact that he continually failed at finding a spouse irked him. Leader or not, he never knew how to handle himself around the queens, and could not bring himself to feel what every other cat felt. He wasn't sure what the problem was, but the fact remained that he was one of the last of the single adult toms. Well, other than Rum Tum Tugger, but he tended to have the opposite problem. Too many one-night stands.

Munkustrap's chest rose and fell slowly as he turned over again, away from the yard, and shut his eyes. It was no use. He was a cat, for Bast's sake. Sleeping was the most natural thing in the world to a cat. So why couldn't he seem to lose consciousness? As if being a semi-leader of the Jellicles wasn't stressful enough, now he had to contend with sleep deprivation. This was ridiculous.

A THUD came from behind him.

Instantly Munkustrap whipped around, tail bushy and fur raised, his instincts kicking in. Cautiously he peered out of the crack in the trunk, looking round the junkyard for anything suspicious. The odd wrecked car there, a heap of scrap metal there, nothing major ... and then there was another THUD, then a clang, a crash and an 'OW!', all of which cut through the calm night like knives. Now completely alert, Munkustrap heaved the lid of the trunk open and climbed out, just in time to see a flying bundle of fur land hard on the ground in front of him with a groan.

'FINE, kick me out like that!' came a voice, and Munkustrap sighed: It was only Mungojerrie. The striped, tall tom had stood up and was now shouting into some corner of the night at the top of his voice. 'I don't need you telling me off! And I don't need to spend the night in that dump! I'm better off by myself!'

'Well, as it turns out, you're _not_ by yourself,' said Munkustrap smoothly, and Mungojerrie whipped around. 'What are you doing here?' the tom snarled.

'At the moment, being awakened by your little spat,' replied Munkustrap, smiling slightly. 'And what are _you_ doing here? Getting forcibly ejected from your humble abode?'

Mungojerrie looked like he was about to reply scathingly; his tail was twitching angrily and his claws were bared. But then he hung his head with a sigh, and sat down on the floor of the junkyard once more.

'Rumpleteaser kicked me out of the house,' he mumbled, by way of explanation. 'She said not to come back until I find a mate. She's convinced I need one. Ever since she and Gus's son hooked up, she's been insufferable!'

'I was under the impression you had a mate,' said Munkustrap, puzzled, as he sat down beside the tom. 'A non-tribe member, I recall.'

'Yeah, so much for that,' Mungojerrie snorted. 'That fell apart months ago. She was a whore. She was courting, like, three other toms at the same time. And all of them had no clue about the others. Lucky thing I was never too emotionally involved with her.'

'That probably was an ugly scene, when those other toms found out,' Munkustrap said conversationally. Mungojerrie rolled his eyes, and silence descended on the pair for a few moments, before Munkustrap finally asked, 'These toms ... were they members of the tribe? Were any other Jellicles involved?'

'Nah, thank Bast,' said Mungojerrie. 'I don't think I'd be able to live with being a tribe member if I had to contend with that.'

'It's not like you contend with the tribe much to begin with,' Munkustrap muttered. 'Always on the outskirts, aren't you? Doing work for Macavity and suchlike?'

'For your information, _Munkustrap_,' said Mungojerrie, flaring up at once, 'I have never worked once with the Napoleon of Crime! That was such a stupid rumour. I'm better than that and you should know it!'

'Rumours or not, you still refuse to live by the rules. Is it any wonder so many Jellicles suspected you? You and that sister of yours are always doing dirty work.'

'_She's_ the one that does the most of it,' Mungojerrie countered (Munkustrap rolled his eyes). 'She's always nabbing the family pearls, trying to impress that cute little tom of hers, acting all hoity-toity.' By now Mungojerrie had stood up and was pacing the yard; Munkustrap watched him coolly. 'And Asparagus doesn't even like her. Thinks she's not good enough for his son. And to tell you the truth, I agree with him.'

'What happened to family loyalties?' asked Munkustrap with a slight smile.

'You want loyalties?' Mungojerrie chuckled bitterly. 'She's convinced it's only a matter of time before she's a mother, and it's inflated her head to no end. She's always holding it over me. "What happened to 'fruit of your loins'? Where's _your_ hot little queen? Do you think you'll find someone as good as Celery here?" '

At this Munkustrap laughed out loud. 'Please tell me "Celery" isn't his real name,' he said, standing also.

'Well, no, it's not, but I think it's fitting. Asparagus? Celery? It works. Bast, I hate him. The family thinks he and Rumple are _cute_ together, if you can believe that. They can't wait till she's a mother either. I hate living with them.'

'So is that why you and Rumpleteaser are always messing around with their heads? Flooding the basement, propping windows open, sabotaging the roof?'

'So what if it is?' said Mungojerrie, turning to face Munkustrap for the first time. 'Those stupid humans found us wandering an alley one night and decided to take us home and "protect us". "Oh, those poor kittens all out on their own!" ' he mimicked. ' "Lost in the cold, cruel world, all alone and lonely!" When we were perfectly happy being street cats. We liked it. Freedom, the thrill of hunting your own food, pinning down a mouse. Wandering wherever you want, whenever you want. And yet they took us home and now everything's handed to us on a silver platter. They keep us in so much it's all we can do to get to the tribe meetings. All in the name of "safety". And the only way we can even attempt to bring back the thrill of the old days is to commit these "crimes", as you call them.'

'You're the first cat I've ever met who regretted being pampered,' Munkustrap mused. 'Reliving the glory days, huh? Sounds to me like you're living in the past, Mungo.'

'Always the wise philosopher, aren't you?' grumbled Mungojerrie, climbing onto the hood of another wrecked car. Munkustrap followed, stepping around the heap of junk cautiously. 'Rumple does it purely for the thrill, but I do it because it's like being free again. Being on my own. Whereas Rumple could not possibly care less whether she was free or spoiled, especially now. All that matters to her now is old Celery. And I've been calling him that so often that I can't remember his real name.' He grinned. 'Boy, does she hate that.'

'And it doesn't seem like you're making much of an effort to make amends,' Munkustrap concluded, as the two of them sad contentedly on the top of the car. 'No wonder she kicked you out.'

'Yeah,' Mungojerrie muttered. 'You know, I should be happy. If I'm not allowed inside, then I'm free again. At least for a little while.' At this he looked down, averting his eyes. 'But I can't help thinking there's something wrong with me.'

Munkustrap hesitated for a minute, then asked, 'How so?'

Mungojerrie looked back up at him. 'This whole "finding a mate" business. I'm not a ladies' cat, never have been, never will be. Those lessons from Tugger were a disaster.' He kicked at the car's wrecked hood ornament with a paw; it snapped off the hood and fell to the ground with a CLUNK. 'I can't ever feel right around the queens. I try, really I do, but I can't get myself to care. I don't know what to feel. I don't know what to do. And I don't know anything about relationships.' He laughed bitterly again. 'The last one I got into was purely because that dame threw herself at me, and if anything it's proof that I'm not destined for a mate. Maybe I should just learn to live without one. It'd keep me out of the house, if anything.'

For the past few moments Munkustrap had sat in silence, listening to Mungojerrie and marveling at the similarities of their feelings. But he had also simply been watching the tall tom, studying his movements. There was a certain gracefulness to Mungojerrie, Munkustrap had realized. Just in the way he handled himself, and the way he moved...

'Erm, Munkustrap? What are you looking at?'

'Oh — nothing.' The Jellicle leader could feel himself blushing under his fur. He felt ashamed of his feelings. Trying to hide it, he added, 'Look, if it's any consolation, I know how you feel.'

'You, a leader of the tribe, having troubles with women? Surely you jest,' said Mungojerrie, laughing lightly. 'I should think you'd have no problem finding a queen to woo.'

'Well, you're wrong there,' said Munkustrap, leaning back on the car windshield dejectedly. 'I'm one of the last of my age to find a mate. So are you, for that matter.'

'Don't remind me,' Mungojerrie muttered, leaning back too. 'I guess we're more alike than we thought.'

'You and me, alike?' Munkustrap asked, smiling now. 'You must be joking. You're an outlaw, mischievous, even bold. And you like your freedom.'

'Whereas you are the "strong but silent" type,' Mungojerrie interrupted with a laugh. 'You're a natural leader. You're respected.' He paused. 'And Jellicles look up to you.'

Munkustrap looked at him. 'You really think so?'

'I know so,' said Mungojerrie softly.

The two of them remained like that for a minute, their eyes locked, each looking intently at the other. Then suddenly, and at the same time, they looked away, feeling acutely uncomfortable. Mungojerrie raised his hind paw and scratched his ear, thumping rhythmically on the car hood, while Munkustrap suddenly became acutely focused on cleaning his face.

'Look,' said Munkustrap at last, 'you should probably head home. You need to show Rumpleteaser that you could not care less if she's kicked you out.'

'And why would I do that?' asked Mungojerrie, having finished scratching.

'Because it's pretty late, and the junkyard's not safe at night,' said Munkustrap, then added, 'You know how Macavity likes to hang around.'

'You've been sleeping at this junkyard for years and nothing's happened to you,' Mungojerrie countered, hopping off the car hood (Munkustrap followed). 'You know, I've been wondering if Macavity's intimidated by your presence.'

'Me? Please. I hide out in a car trunk so that I'm not seen. You should try it sometime, it'd be a good way to hide from Rumpleteaser.'

'I suppose,' said Mungojerrie, as the two of them left the junkyard and headed to the humans' house, which was less than a block away. 'I just wish I had found someone, you know? It would have been so great to throw that in Rumple's face. Just like, "You thought I couldn't find a mate, but I did." Cut her down a few notches.'

'Knowing Rumpleteaser, I doubt she'd allow herself to be cut down,' muttered Munkustrap.

Silence again descended on the pair for a few minutes. Munkustrap had been about to say something else, but had stopped himself, and was now wrestling with the idea of saying it or not. The silent but furious debate continued in his head endlessly until finally he burst out, 'And anyway, I think you found a mate.'

Mungojerrie stopped, looking uncertainly at Munkustrap. 'I did?'

'You —' Part of Munkustrap wanted to bolt back to the junkyard and hide in the trunk, but he knew that now that he had admitted his feelings, there was no going back. '—you ... might have. If you're ... willing,' he said hesitantly.

'Willing? I —' Comprehension suddenly dawned on Mungojerrie's face. 'Oh. Um...'

'Look, just forget it,' said Munkustrap hurriedly; he could feel himself blushing again. 'Never mind. It was stupid. Just —'

'No,' Mungojerrie stopped him. 'No, no ... it's ... it's fine.'

There was a very uncomfortable pause.

'Fine?' said Munkustrap at last. 'You mean you're ... you're okay with it?'

'I ... I think I'm more than okay with it, actually,' said Mungojerrie, as he smiled slowly.

Munkustrap was suddenly aware of how close Mungojerrie was to him.

'You have no idea how relieved I am to hear you say that,' he breathed, finally allowing himself to laugh.

'Oh, I think I have a little idea,' said Mungojerrie, as he shyly slung his arm around the Jellicle leader's shoulder.

'I — you —' began Munkustrap, as he suddenly became aware of how much he enjoyed being in the tall tom's embrace — but before he could realize, or indeed say, anything more, Mungojerrie suddenly pulled him close. Their whiskers were touching.

'Stop talking, please,' he said simply, teasingly — and the two of them kissed.

It was a long, passionate embrace. Munkustrap literally thought his heart was going to burst. This — this sensation, this feeling, _whatever_ it was — it was amazing, indescribable, a sense that he had never felt with a queen. And now, this feeling ... it felt ... it felt _right_. Like his heart had simply been waiting for the right person to come along. Who would have guessed that that person would be Mungojerrie? And, moreover, that the feelings would be mutual? Munkustrap didn't know, and didn't care. All he knew was that he wanted this moment to last forever ... this moment of pure, perfect bliss.

The two of them remained like that, locked in the kiss, their arms around each other, for as long as they could — until they needed to surface to breathe. Once they broke apart, Mungojerrie gasped, not for air, but out of shock. 'That was ... I don't ...' he sputtered. 'Yes, I am definitely okay with this.'

'It's funny, isn't it?' Munkustrap said after a moment's pause, as he slung his arm around the other tom in turn. 'Sometimes you never quite realize until the last possible minute.'

'And sometimes that's for the best,' Mungojerrie countered, looking forward. 'Well, would you look at that — we have reached my humble abode.'

'So we have,' concluded Munkustrap, gazing at the tall (and rather large) house looming in front of them. 'Nice place, it seems.'

'Only from the outside,' retorted Mungojerrie. 'Try being locked in there for a week.'

As the two of them gazed at the house, and then at each other, Mungojerrie's paw found Munkustrap's. They smiled at each other, each admiring the sparkle in the other's eyes, before sharing another quick kiss. Then —

'May I?' said Mungojerrie shyly, gesturing toward the entryway of the house.

Munkustrap laughed. 'Go right ahead,' he replied, grinning.

With that, Mungojerrie bounded forward, his paw still in Munkustrap's. The Jellicle leader laughed again, and hurried to catch up to the tall tom's strides.

'Oh, Rumpleteaser?' Mungojerrie called in a singsong voice. 'I found a mate!'

* * *

**Author's Note #2:** Hoo boy, am I going to get flamed for this. I purposefully didn't put 'slash' in the summary because I wanted the result to be a surprise. You can't really warn people without spoiling at least some aspect of the ending. Anyway, this was my first attempt at writing slash fanfiction, so I would REALLY appreciate any reviews (that aren't flames) and/or constructive criticism, just so I could know how I did. Thanks!


End file.
